This Charlotte Hornets' stat will surprise you

Mack Baltes

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This Charlotte Hornets' stat will surprise you image

The Charlotte Hornets have been plagued by injuries throughout the season, missing Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton for extended periods due to injury. Now, after Friday's game, they may be without Kon Knueppel for the near future.

That said, when healthy, the Charlotte Hornets have impressed this season. In Friday's game against the Orlando Magic, the Hornets scored 120 points, including a 38-point first and 39-point third quarter. Charlotte has now scored 120 or more in three consecutive games, including 132 against the Cavaliers.

Finishing with the third-worst record in the league last season, the Hornets were 7-24 at this point last year. Currently, Charlotte is 11-20 and winners of three of their last five.

One shocking stat is Charlotte's effectiveness on offense, despite their injury issues. The Hornets rank 11th in the NBA in offensive rating. While that might not seem high, it's worthy noting all the teams ahead of Charlotte. Of the 10 teams ahead of them, six are the top-six in the Western Conference and three more are the top-three teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (last year's No. 1 seed) are the only top-10 team that is not near the top of their conference, sitting seventh in the East. 

At 11th, the Hornets are the highest placed of all non-playoff teams and even higher than teams currently in a postseason position.

Although defensive struggles have weighed them down (24th in defensive rating and 28th in steals), this is encouraging play from a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 10 years. Especially considering they added four rookies this offseason, three of which (Knueppel, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Sion James) have played critical roles, averaging over 25 minutes per game.

The Hornets return to action Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks, in search of their third straight victory.

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Editorial Team